2004 No. 2920 (W.259)
COUNCIL TAX, WALES

The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2004

Made
Coming into force
The National Assembly for Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by sections 8(1) and 113(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 19921 hereby makes the following Regulations:

Name, commencement and application1.

(1)

These Regulations are called the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2004 and come into force on 1 April 2005.

(2)

These Regulations apply to Wales only.

Residential care homes2.

In regulation 2 of the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 19922, for Class A there is substituted —

“Class A

(a)

a care home within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 20003, in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act;

(b)

a building or a part of a building in which residential accommodation is provided under section 21 of the National Assistance Act 19484; or

(c)

a hostel within the meaning given by paragraph 7 of Schedule 15 to the Act.”.
Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 19986.
D. Elis-Thomas
The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly
(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made under sections 8(1) and 113(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) and amend the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”).

The 1992 Regulations prescribe the classes of dwelling for which the person liable for council tax is the owner rather than the occupier. Class A in regulation 2 of those regulations provided for the owner to be liable for council tax for “a residential care home, nursing home, mental nursing home or hostel”, within the meanings given by paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the 1992 Act.

The Care Standards Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”) amended paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the 1992 Act, by substituting references to “care home” and “independent hospital” for the previous terms “residential care home”, “nursing home” and “mental nursing home”. Article 2 of these Regulations substitutes for the existing Class A a new Class A in the 1992 Regulations. The new Class A refers to care homes within the meaning of the 2000 Act, in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act, buildings or parts of buildings in which residential accommodation is provided under section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948 and hostels within the meaning of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the 1992 Act.

The owner and not the occupier will be liable to pay the council tax only for those care homes within the meaning of the 2000 Act, in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act. Where no person has so registered, although they should have, the occupiers and not the owner will continue to be liable for council tax.